During 2019, tourist arrivals to Guatemala increased 6% over the previous year; however, the average stay decreased slightly, from 6.63 days in 2018 to 6.56 days in 2019.
Figures from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUAT) show that in 2019 2,559,599 tourists entered the country, a figure 6% higher than the 2,405,902 visitors reported in 2018.
From January to September 2019, 1.89 million visitors were registered, a figure 6% higher than that reported for the same period in 2018.
During the ninth month of the year, a total of 161,891 visitors entered, of which 70% were tourists and 30% were hikers. Compared to September 2018, there was a 5% growth. The regions that showed an increase were Central America (8%), North America (4%) and South America (2%), reported the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT).
In the 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala fell back in the ranking, while the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report prepared by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 41 out of 140 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 47, the Dominican Republic at 73, Nicaragua at 91, Honduras at 94, Guatemala at 99 and El Salvador at 108.
In the first half of the year, 1.29 million visitors were registered, a figure 7% higher than that reported in the same period in 2018.
During June, a total of 192,801 visitors entered, of which 72% were tourists and 28% were hikers. Compared to June 2018, there was a 7% growth. The regions that showed an increase were Central America (11%), North America (6%), South America (4%) and Rest of the World (3%), reported the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT).
In the first three months of the year, about 665,000 visitors were reported, a figure that is only 2% higher than that reported in the same period in 2018.
In March of this year, a total of 251,392 visitors arrived, of which 67% were tourists and 33% were hikers. Compared to the same month in 2018, there was a 5% drop, because Easter was celebrated in March during the reference year, while in 2019 will take place in April.
Up to July, a 13% increase was reported in the number of tourists who arrived in Guatemala, but upon incorporating the August figures, the accumulated variation in the year was -0.4% with respect to the same period in 2017.
The Guatemalan Institute of Tourism reported that during August a total of 220,844 visitors entered the country, of which 76% were tourists and 24% were hikers.
During the first seven months of the year, the entry of 1.4 million tourists was reported, 13% more than the 1.2 million reported in the same period in 2017.
During the month of July, a total of 211,571 visitors passed through, of which 80% were tourists and 20% were day trippers, according to the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat).
For the 2017-2018 season, the arrival of 165,000 tourists on board 120 cruise ships is expected, which will represent an increase of 33% over the previous period.
The general director of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat), Jorge Mario Chajon, stated that "...the current cruise season that began in September and will end next August, will be the best ever in Guatemala, both terms of the arrival of vessels, as well as the number of cruise passengers and the projected foreign exchange income. 'A total of 120 cruises will arrive during the season, which is 25% more than last year'."
Explained by the arrival of Salvadoran and American visitors, from January to February 2018 the country received 390,919 tourists, 16% more than in the same period in 2017.
According to figures from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat), 40% of tourists who came into the country in the first two months of the year were Salvadorans, when a total of 155,765 visitors were reported.
According to a study carried out by Guatemalan touristic authorities, in 2016 there were 19,500 meetings in which one million people took part, generating revenues of $1 billion.
Tourism authorities reported that "... the meetings industry generated a direct expenditure (sales and consumption) of 1,051 million US dollars in the national economy, of which43.5% was spent on tourism concepts and the rest went to other sectors of the economy, generating a total of 27 thousand jobs. This data is reflected in a contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of 1.2%."
The number of foreign visitors who arrived in the country during Easter Week increased by 33% compared to the same period in 2017, while domestic tourism grew by 21%.
Figures from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute detail that "... tourist activity from March 23 to 31 was intensified compared to the same period in 2017 and exceeded forecasts, with a total of 3,065,918 domestic and foreign tourists."
Authorities estimate that this year the number of visitors that will come to the country will be 2.2 million, 4% more than the flow of tourists registered last year.
Following an 11% tourist increase between 2016 and 2017, representatives from the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (Inguat) project that this year the number of visitors will reach 2 million 197 thousand, a figure that is 4% more than the 2 million 119 thousand reported last year.
It has been estimated that 2017 closed with the arrival of 2.1 million visitors to the country, 11% more than in the previous year, and foreign currency generated of more than $1.2 billion.
The Guatemalan Tourism Institute also stressed that this is the best cruise season in the history of the country, which will see 122 dockings.
In the first eight months of the year, the number of tourists who visited the country grew by 14% compared to the same period in 2016, and businesses expect to close 2017 with an annual increase of 10%.
Between January and August this year, there were 432,712 tourists, 14% higher than in the same period last year. Regarding how the year will end, the director of Inguat, Jorge Mario Chajón, "...
The average european tourist plans trips less than a year in advance and searches and books tour packages via the internet, without using intermediaries.
A study by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute to identify best prospectsfound that"... generally Europeans decide on their holiday destination less than a year in advance and in most cases organize their trips independently i.e., without using intermediaries. It was also found that the most used methods of finding information include recommendations from friends, search engines and online travel agencies and websites promoting the destinations.
español
9099
